Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c27.s8: 7.7 Sound variations
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c27.s8
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Contents
- c27.s8.t1 7.7.1 Vowels — 3 parts
- c27.s8.t2 7.7.2 Consonants — 3 parts
7.7 Sound variations
c27.s8.1
The same words are sometimes written differently when compared with the corresponding words in Literary Tamil and also within the Corpus itself. These differences may be due to dialectal or regional variations or evolution over a period of time or different environments of the sounds in the texts or merely scribal errors. The sound variations found in the Corpus are listed below. (Sound variations in loanwords caused by adaptation to the Tamil phonetic pattern have been discussed in section 6.21.)
7.7.1 Vowels
c27.s8.t1.1
| Variation | LT | Corpus | Ref. No. |
| *a ~ ā* | *vaṇikaṉ* | *vaṇikaṉ* | 43.1.b, 46.2.b |
| | *vāṇikaṉ* | *vāṇikaṉ* | 39.1.b, 42.1.b, 69.2.b |
| *a ~ i* | *atikaṉ* | *kāḷ=itikaṉ* | 3.6.b |
| | | (*i*- error for *a*-) | |
| *a ~ u* | *atta-* | *attuvāyi* | 60.6.a |
| | | (-*u* error for -*a*) | |
| *ā ~ a* | *atiṭṭāṉam* | *atiṭ-aṇam* | 49.8 |
| | | (-*a* error for -*ā*) | |
| *i ~ a* | *atiṭṭāṉam* | *ataṭ-aṇam* | 50.3 |
| | | (-*a*- error for -*i*-; -*a* error for-*ā*) | |
| *i ~ u* | *kumiḻ* | *kumuḻ* | 49.2.a |
| *i ~ e* | *iṭai* | *eḷai* | 34.1.a |
| | *iḷa-* | *iḷa-* | 2.7.a, 17.1.a, 49.6, 61.11.a, 61.12.a, 62.11.c, 62.12.a, 67.1.c, 76.1.a |
| | | *eḷa* | 43.2.a, 46.3.a, 56.5.a |
| *i ~ iy* | | *ar-itaṉ* (*aritaṉ*) | 8.2 |
| | | *ar-iytaṉ* (*ariytaṉ*) | 18.2 |
| | | *ariti* | 34.2 |
| | | *ariyti* | 25.1.b |
| *i ~ y* | | *cē-i-ya* | 2.10 |
| | | *cē-y-a* | 31.2 |
c27.s8.t1.2
| Variation | LT | Corpus | Ref. No. |
| ~ i | *īḻa-* | *iḻa-* (*i-* error for *ī-*) | 55.2.a |
| | *vīra-* | *vira-* (-*i-* error for *-ī-*) | 79.1.c, 81.2.b |
| u ~ i | *maturai* | *matira* | 27.1 |
| | | *matiray* | 36.1 |
| | | *matirai* | 24.2 |
| | | *mattirai* (-*tt-* error for *-t-*) | 38.1 |
| | *ācu* | *āci* | 73.6 |
| u ~ o | *pukal* | *pokal* | 105.1.b |
| | *pukaḻ* | *pokaḻ* | 83.1.b |
| u ~ u | *ūr* | *ūr* | 13.1.b, 19.2, 30.1.b, 34.1.b, 35.1.c, 49.2.b, 56.1.c, 57.1.b, 61.3.b, 63.1.b, 63.3.b, 65.1.b, 66.1.b, 69.1.b, 73.2.b, 74.1.b, 76.3.b, 84.1.c |
| | | *ur* (*u-* error for *ū-*) | 55.1.c, 121.1.b |
| | | *uru* (*u-* error for *ū-*) | 112.1.b |
| e ~ a | *cem-* | *cem-* | 22.1.a, 61.4.a, 62.4.a, 63.2.a, 109.1.a, 110.1.a |
| | | *cam-* | 101.1.a, 105.1.a |
| | *kevi* | *kavi* | 57.3 |
| ey ~ e | *cey* | *cey* | 49.7, 55.4 |
| | | *cē* | 2.10, 18.3, 31.2, 35.3 |
| ai ~ a | *aṇai* | *aṇa* | 120.2. b |
| | *amai* | *ama* | 48.6 |
| | *ittai* | *itta* | 13.3 |
| | *kuṟai* | *kuṟa* | 11.1 |
| | *matirai* | *matira* | 27.1 |
| ai ~ i | *ārāttaṉai* | *ārātaṇi* | 115.6 |
| ai ~ e | *vai* | *vai(k)ka* | 16.2 |
| | | *ve(p)pōṉ* | 13.4 |
c27.s8.t1.3
| Variation | LT | Corpus | Ref. No. |
| *ai* ~ *ay* | -(a)ntai | *antai* | 3.7.a, 20.1.a, 25.1.a, 26.1.a, 27.2.a, 28.1.a, 29.1.b, 31.1.b, 32.1.b, 66.2.b, 67.1.b |
| | | (a)*ntay* | 77.2.b |
| | *aiyaṉ* | *aiyaṉ* | 55.3.b |
| | *ayyaṉ* | *a(y)yaṉ* | 55.5.b |
| | *matirai* | *matirai* | 24.2 |
| | | *matiray* | 36.1 |
| | *iḷaiyar* | *iḷayar* | 49.6 |
| *o* ~ *u* | *koṭu* | *koṭu* | 3.9, 5.2, 7.4, 10.4, 11.2, 15.2, 44.3, 53.2 |
| | | *kuṭu* | 14.2, 45.4 |
| | *poṟai* | *-poṟai* | 61.7.d |
| | | *-puṟai* | 62.7.d |
7.7.2 Consonants
c27.s8.t2.1
| *k* ~ Ø | *makaṉ* | *makaṉ* | 20.2, 40.4, 56.5.b, 61.8, 61.10, 62.8, 62.10, 72.2, 84.3, 88.5 |
| | *-māṉ* | *-mān* (*-n* error for *-ṉ*) | 59.2.c |
| | | *-māṉ* | 73.1.b |
| *ñ* ~ *n* | *ñāḻal*, *nāḻal* | *nāḷaḷ* (*-ḷ* error for *-l*) | 77.1 |
| *ṭ* ~ *ḷ* | *iṭai* | *eḷai* | 34.1.a |
| | *kaṭu-* | *kaṭu-* | 61.9.b, 61.11.b, 62.9.b, 62.11.a, 62.11.d, 80.1.a |
| | | *kaḷu-* | 44.1.a |
| *n* ~ *ṇ* | *nanti* | *nanti* | 116.4.b |
| | | *ṇaṇti* (*n-* due to Pkt. influence) | 115.3.b |
c27.s8.t2.2
| Variation | LT | Corpus | Ref. No. |
| | *nākaṉ* | *nāka-* | 56.1.a |
| | | *nākaṉ* | 48.2 |
| | | *ṇākaṉ* (*ṇ-* due to | |
| | | Pkt. influence) | 72.1 |
| *n* ~ *ṇ* | *nākaṉ* | *ṇākaṉ* (*ṇ-* error for *n-*) | 37.1 |
| *p* ~ *v* | *ipam* | *iva-* | 60.1.a |
| *y* ~ *i* | | *kaṇi-y* | 1.1, 2.1, 4.1 |
| | | *kaṇi-i* | 3.1 |
| | | *pa(!)ḷi-y* | 2.11, 15.1, 52.4, 77.3 |
| | | *pa(!)ḷi-i* | 10.5, 46.1.b |
| *y* ~ *iy* | | *pa(!)ḷi-y* | 2.11, 15.1, 52.4, 77.3 |
| | | *pa(!)ḷi-iy* | 1.9 |
| | | | |
| *y* ~ *yi* | *cey* | *cey* | 49.7, 55.4 |
| | | *ceyi* | 65.5, 73.7, 76.6, 83.5 |
| | | *siri-y* | 2.2.b, 3.2.b |
| | | *siri-y-i* | 1.2.b |
| *ya* ~ *yi* | | *kāyapaṉ* | 61.4.b, 62.4.b, 63.2.b |
| | | *kāyipaṉ* | 60.7.b, 76.1.b |
| *yi* ~ *iy* | *eyil* | *e-iyl* (*-iy-* error for *-yi-*) | 18.1 |
| *yi* ~ *y* | | *kāyvaṉ* (*-y-* error for *-yi-*) | 104.2 |
| | | | |
| *vi* ~ *pi* | *koṭṭuvitta* | *koṭṭupitta-a* | 1.8 |
| | | *koṭṭupi(t)tōṉ* | 8.3, 9.4 |
| | *ceyvitta* | *ceyipi(t)ta* | 65.5 |
| | | *ceyivitta* | 83.5 |
| | | *cēvi(t)t-ōṉ* | 18.3 |
| *ṉ* ~ *n* | *atiyaṉ neṭumāṉ* | *atiyan neṭumān* | 59.2.a-c |
| | *veṉ* | *ven* | 20.3 |
c27.s8.t2.3
The use of the dental *n* for the alveolar *ṉ* is one of the commonest errors in inscriptional Tamil. See A. Velu Pillai (1976: pp. 11-12, p. 24, n. 5) for examples from early medieval inscriptions and for discussion. It is interesting that the falling together of *n* and *ṉ* had started even in the Early Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions as attested by 20.3.